Links and Books by Jo Michaels

Friday, February 19, 2016

Book Review - Untamed

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Well, I did a boo boo. I actually read Ride the Wind by Starla Huchton this year, too. I'll be writing that review Monday. How fun is this week? Anywho, today I have the novella from the Splintered series by A. G. Howard, Untamed. I wrote reviews for both the second and third books in the series, but not the first (I don't know why). You can find Unhinged here and Ensnared here, if you wish to check them out.

Blurb:
Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart. In this collection of three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their memories of Wonderland. In Six Impossible Things, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her life after Ensnared, and the role magic plays in preserving the happiness of those she loves. Alyssa’s mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and giving up the crown to rescue the man who would become her husband in The Boy in the Web. And Morpheus delves into Jeb’s memories of the events of Splintered in The Moth in the Mirror, available in print for the first time.

You guys. When I saw there was another book in this series I almost lost my mind. Not only are the covers some of the most beautiful I've seen, but the stories inside continue to take me on wild rides. I grabbed this puppy on Amazon and gobbled it up in just a couple of days. Since I'm positive you don't give two shakes about where I got it or why, I'm moving on to the meat of my review.

From a Reader's Perspective:
Wow. I loved seeing how Alyssa is managing both worlds in this story. Watching everything unfold, and learning some of the backstory, was an escape like no other. How beautiful the love was between Alyssa and Jeb, and what a gentleman Morpheus turned out to be! I found myself lost in the beautiful, chaotic Wonderland that Howard built (but didn't go overboard on), and when I had to put the book down to adult, I was torn asunder. Alyssa continued to grow as a character in this novella. I could see myself being friends with her in the real world. What blew me away the most were the stories from Alyssa's mother. I always wondered how, when, and why everything came to be, and this book answered all my questions. There was never a dull moment, the action moving from one thing to the next constantly. So glad I read this one. Splintered fans will be dancing in the streets.

From an Editor's Perspective:
While there was a typesetting boo boo near the back of the book, there were no grammatical errors or anything like that. Wonderfully done.

Rating:
1 Star for giving me all that backstory I was craving
1 Star for showing how Alyssa grew since Ensnared ended
1 Star for glorious world building without bogging me down in details
1 Star for excellent pacing
1 Star for stellar editingOverall, 5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend reading this book (whole series) if you're a fan of dark fantasy. Loved. It.